A volume in the Time-Life Great Cities series, this is an intimate, affectionate, but unvarnished account of the Irish state and society. We do not usually realise how complicated the history has been, with divisions based on ethnic origins, religion, language, and economic status (although most of us would have heard of the potato blight and the million deaths and emigration). One does not also understand why the relations between mainland British and the Irish needed to be so rough, when they actually share the same language. However, the author makes no bones about the Irishman's penchant for drink - after all, it is the home of Guinness - and the consequences of this predilection. ( )